E3 2011: Superman Needs You in DC Universe Online

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Game Update Four takes you to the Fortress of Solitude.

By Greg Miller

It's time to help Superman. DC Universe Online has been getting content updates since the game came out, but most have something to do with Batman -- Sony Online Entertainment just announced Game Update Three, and it's all about Ra's al Ghul -- but that's about to change. At E3, SOE will talk Game Update Four and its plans to take you to the Fortress of Solitude, Superman's arctic base, but who wants to wait to see it and hear about?

IGN sure doesn't, so we grabbed new Game Director Mark Anderson -- a man who came from the God of War franchise and has been with SOE for four years now -- and asked him about DC Universe Online's Super-update, bugs, servers and burning topics for rabid fans.

Exit Theatre Mode

IGN: When you guys originally talked about DCUO updates, you talked about them being monthly. There was some trouble getting that off the ground in the beginning, but you are about to release your third update and are already talking about the fourth. Have you figured out the sweet science or is mantra "publish when it's ready?"

Mark Anderson: We're excited to be releasing Game Update Three: Ra's al Ghu's Revenge and to begin talking about the next game update, which has many things players have been asking us to bring to the experience. Because of the length of time it takes to plan, develop and test we're obviously working on releases that are sometimes planned quite some time down the road. I would love to say we had it down to a science, but the truth is that each new piece of gameplay we develop comes with its own challenges, and we want to continue to raise the quality bar for each successive release. I don't think that the development of any form of game can ever really say it becomes a science, as finding the fun takes time even with a proven model. Having said that, we're looking to build on the core strengths of the game and are striving to hit a regular pace or stride that our players can count on. We're not there yet but we are getting better. Most importantly we are trying to make sure that we evolve and grow the game based on what our players are telling us so that we continue to make the game better rather than just adding more.

IGN: SOE suffered some company-wide layoffs a few months ago. How has this impacted DCUO?

Mark Anderson: Losing part of your team is very hard, developing a game together builds strong bonds, and team members become more like family. The size of a team required to develop and launch a game is typically much larger than we'd have supporting the live game, and so we move forward with a core team that can carry the game we all built together and ensure we do it justice. We have a very strong and experienced team that is more than capable of delivering the quality of live experience that DCUO deserves.

IGN: As DC fanboy, I've dug the updates, but they've all been pretty Batman-centric in terms of locations and villains. As a representative of the House of El, will I be happy with Game Update 4? What's in it?

Mark Anderson: If you're into all things Kryptonian, I think you'll be very pleased with not only Game Update Four but also the next few updates. We've got to give the Man of Steel his due, and he can't be contained to a single update. To start off, we take you to the Fortress of Solitude where Brainiac continues on his march to absorb all that the Earth has to offer. With an army at his doorstep, Superman needs all the help he can get to stop Brainiac from using the powers of his home world against the people of Earth, even if it means developing a fragile alliance with one of his greatest enemies. This is the start of our next series of 8-player group content, and it's got some really jaw-dropping stuff.

Game Update Four also features a hard mode of the HIVE moon base Alert that brings an even greater challenge to this fan-favorite. We also have a new four-person version of the first Batcave Raid chapter that allows players that haven't been part of the larger raid groups to try and keep Brainiac from invading Batman's subterranean home. We know players are hungry for new places to go and battles to join, but we also want to give players a chance to see the story unfold and see all the iconic places we have to offer even if they typically play in smaller groups. We'll have some Marketplace updates that will offer some great new looks and utility items, and we've also got a few top player requested fixes in the works as well.

IGN: Whoa, whoa, whoa – Superman and Lex have to work together? Does this mean in-game heroes can team up with in-game villains?

Mark Anderson: Hey, when the wolf is at your door you can't be picky about who you find to keep it closed right? You just need muscle. We're talking about Brainiac potentially having access to the all the power of Krypton's sunstone crystals. Lex isn't such a bad guy, he's just misunderstood. In terms of team-ups, let's just say we're fans of the books and this has been known to happen on more than a few occasions.

This is where he came to learn.

IGN: What kind of gear can people expect to get out of the Fortress of Solitude raid?

Mark Anderson: I think the biggest thing people will be after is the new iconic armor suits you can buy based on Marks that you earn. We've got some really cool gear for each role, each based on a unique aspect of Kryptonian sunstone technology. It's a totally new look and a new tier of gear we haven't seen in the game before, and it can be color tinted and customized in the same ways players are accustomed to using our style system.

IGN: When DCUO first came out, it seemed like everyone and their brother was playing. Now, that's waned a bit – as it does with most games – and you've talked about mega-servers. Can you explain that to the readers?

Mark Anderson: This was something that we wanted to do even prior to launch. One of our goals has always been to try and offer players the most opportunity possible to play together, and the mega-servers promote this idea by allowing us to put the most people in a single space that can be sustained in that particular area. This gives us even more opportunity to get players together, including knocking down a few of the barriers related to crossing PVE and PVP boundaries. Obviously there's concern for resolving names once players are combined on the new mega-servers, but we're endeavoring to do that in the fairest way possible by making sure we're looking at active accounts first as well as things like length of time and amount of time played.